EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES

A common way to talk about your program in the military environment is to give
briefings. You also are expected to provide a variety of presentations to different
interested groups. The goal of this module is to provide you with techniques for
preparing and delivering a briefings and presentations.

Many of you are already accomplished presenters, and this session can serve as
an affirmation of your skills. Some of you would like to improve your presentation
skills, and hope this session will help.

What do you hope to gain from this session?

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What are the benefits to having good presentation skills?

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The objectives of this module on “Presentation Skills” are to:

 Identify the purposes for presentations

 Identify the types of presentations
 Identify the components of presentations
 Identify steps in preparing effective presentations
 Identify and practice presentation skills
TOOLS OF THE TRADE:

1. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS: What do you need to know about the following? How
can you obtain the necessary information?
What are some examples of each?
 The purpose
 The type of presentation (format)
 The audience
 The environment

2. PREPARATION: CONSTRUCTION: What do you know about the following?

What are some examples of each?
 What goes into a presentation?
 What should not be included?
 How is it organized?
 What comes first? What comes last?

3. PREPARATION: CONSTRUCTION: What do you know about the following?

What are some examples of each?
 What are some types of visual aids?
 When and why would you use them?
 What are some guidelines for using visual aids?

4. DELIVERING THE PRESENTATION: What do you know about the following?

What are some examples of each?
 What are some guidelines for effective speaking?
(“It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.”)
 What factors need to be considered as you deliver a presentation?
 What are some suggestions for controlling nervousness?

5. FOLLOW-UP: Brainstorm: What do you know about the following? What are
some examples of each?
 What actions should be taken after a presentation?
 Why? When? For whom?
 THE BRIEFING OUTLINE

STEP 1: Analyze the Situation. What is the desired outcome? Determine who your
audience is going to be and the purpose of the briefing. What are the "pet rocks" of the
people in attendance-do they support or oppose your proposal? Who is the senior
audience member? How many people? Where will it be held? How long should it last?
What visual aids will be available for your use?
STEP 2: Construct the Briefing. Tailor the structure of your briefing to fit your audience
and purpose. Use an outline. Present only the essentials. Leave out "nice to know"
material. Implement the KISS philosophy!!
STEP 3: Deliver the Briefing. Tell your audience what you are going to tell them, tell them,
then tell them what you told them. Stay on time.
STEP 4: Follow Up. At the end of the briefing, answer any questions. Make a
memorandum for record that outlines the outcome, succinctly recording the substance of
the briefing, feedback, the nature of any further actions to be taken, who will do it, and
when it is to be accomplished.

The steps are outlined below:

I. Preparation: Situational analysis
1. Purpose
2. Format
3. Audience
4. Environment
II. Preparation: Construction
1. Determine content
a) Main ideas
b) Support ideas
2. Select the approach
a) Style
b) Handouts
c) Visuals
3. Organize the message
a) Introduction
b) Body
c) Conclusion
III. Delivery
1. Environmental control (including audience)
2. Nervousness manageme nt
3. Message communication
IV. Follow-up
1. Questions and answers
2. After action reports or memorandums
 STANDARDS FOR BRIEFINGS

For a better, more polished briefing adhere to the following practices.

 Evidence of research—Use appropriate references for your topic.
 Evidence of rehearsal—Have practiced what you want to say and have confidence
throughout your briefing.
 Greeting—Give a brief introduction and greeting and set a comfortable tone for
discussion.
 Statement of purpose —State the specific purpose of the briefing. You must make
your purpose clear from the outset, so everyone knows why they are present and
what to expect.
 Emphasis of main points—Make sure you provide appropriate emphasis for your
main briefing points. The audience should be clear regarding your main areas of
emphasis.
 Clarity of presentation—Be sure your presentation is logical and for the audience to
follow. Practice makes perfect!
 Overall organization—Organize your presentation into logical, easy to follow and
understand blocks of information and move from one point to the next with smooth
transitions.
 Questions and discussion/Prepared for alternatives – Ultimately, you should be
prepared to discuss alternatives with the decision maker. .Be sure you solicit
questions from the audience and answer them simply and confidently. If you don’t
know the answer, say “I don’t know, I’ll get back to you on that”. Then be sure to
get back with them with the answer.
 Concluding statement—Summarize your presentation and finish with a strong
closing statement.
 Estimate the situation—Analyze beforehand. Be sure you know who will be in the
audience, the amount of knowledge in the audience, the appropriate briefing tools
for the situation, and the overall audience intelligence on the subject.
 Gestures and movements—Be sure you avoid distracting habits like clinking change
in your pockets, pacing, etc. Don’t use pointers to fence with, and don’t choke them
—they never did anything to hurt you. You should appear natural and relaxed.
Don’t dance, rock, or stand with your hands in your pockets (an especially annoying
habit to military audiences). Maintain eye contact with the audience. Don't read
your presentation or focus on your visual aids.
 Speaking—Be sure you speak loud enough to be heard but not so loud as to
become annoying. Your rate of delivery should not be too fast, too slow or
monotone. Enunciate clearly. Pronounce words correctly and follow the basic rules
of grammar. Use inclusive language. Avoid colloquialisms and offensive
language.
 Pause at the appropriate times to allow the audience to absorb your point.
 Filler words are often caused because the briefer is uncomfortable with silence.
Momentary silence while you collect your thoughts is better than the audience
counting your ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’.
 Enthusiasm—Show some enthusiasm for your topic. After all, you are the champion
for the subject you are presenting. Let the audience know you believe what you
say.
 Visual aids—Develop skill in using visual aids. Direct the audience's attention to the
visual aid and back to you when you are finished with the aid. Don't let the aid
become more important to the briefing than you are. Be sure your visual aids are
100% accurate and high quality.
 Timing—Start on time. Be sure to finish on time and allow time for questions.
VISUAL AIDS

Visual aids are intended to focus attention on your content, not distract from it. They are
used to illustrate key points, provide directions or instructions, and/or illustrate a concept.
They help your audiences process the information you are presenting. An added bonus is
that they also help you stay on topic and organized. The following visual aids are
commonly used.

Flip charts Posters Props

Models Slides Transparencies
Videotapes Audiotapes Handouts
Movies Diagrams Matrices
Tables Chalkboards Filmstrips
Leave behinds Demonstrations Misc. Devices

Consider these general rules for selecting, designing, and using visual aids.

 Design each visual aid to perform a specific function; make sure it supports the
subject. Keep your visual aids simple, legible, and large enough to see from
anywhere in the room.
 List your main ideas and then ask yourself the following:
o "How could a visual aid help me explain this point?"
o "What kind of visual aid would work best?"
 Use bullets – helps you avoid reading your charts.
 Use the 6 X 6 rule -no more than 6 words per line, no more than 6 lines per page.
(Or 7x7 rule.)
 Only use the top 2/3 of your visual aid. This helps ensures the content can be read
throughout the room.
 Be consistent in font size and style.
 Use two or three colors to provide interest. Text should contrast strongly with the
background. Black, blue, brown and green are good colors for text. Red, pink,
yellow and orange should only be used for highlighting, never for text.
 Graphics and animation should be kept to a minimum, selected to appeal to the
audience and directly relate to the topic being discusses.
 Keep your visual aids out of sight until you are ready to use them.
 Do not talk to the aid; talk to the audience!
 Do not stand in front of what you are showing.
 Make sure everyone in the audience can see your visuals.
 Put all aids aside when you finish using them.
 Practice your briefing, using your visual aids.
FLIP CHARTS

 Prepare flipcharts in advance and, if possible, pre-position the charts prior to the
briefing. Keep the charts covered until you need them; they are distracting! Don’t tear
off paper; flip it over the back. As you flip the paper over, keep it close to the holder;
it’s less likely to bunch up at the top.
 Make your charts and drawings large; use heavy lines. Use upper and lower case
letters and print! Letters should be at least 3” high. Use numbers when you can.
 Make yourself a template to use while making the chart. Use a heavy black marker and
draw lines spaced farter apart than the size of your letters. For example, if your letters
are going to be 2” high, measure the lines to be 3” to 3 1/2 “ apart. Insert your template
under each sheet as you write to keep the lines straight and letters about the same
size.
 White space is important, it gives the eyes a place to rest and makes it easier to read
your charts.
 If you want a logo on each page, be careful – don’t overwhelm your content. Put the
logo on the last (bottom) page of your charts, at the bottom corner of the sheet. Then
cut away all the sheets above it, just over the logo.
 If you write on the flipchart during your briefing, don’t do it for more than a few seconds
– it’s distracting and wastes time. Write on charts for emphasis, not for general points.

COMPUTER-GENERATED AIDS

 This is the only exception to the rule about using yellow for text. Light or bright yellow
text on dark blue backgrounds is very easy on the eyes and provides excellent contrast.
 Minimize the number of slides to the bare minimum. A serious backlash has developed
in the military—Death by PowerPoint briefings.
 Keep slide transitions and text build features simple. They can be distracting, rather
than enhancing.
 Check your slides’ appearance on the computer you’ll use to project them. Different
computers have different settings that can change the appearance of bullets and
colors. Projection machines completely change the appearance of slides compared to
computer screens.

HANDOUTS AND MANUALS

 Generally, you should pass out handouts at the start of the briefing so attendees can
take notes. The risk is that if you pass out handouts at the beginning, the audience will
be looking at them instead of listening to you. However, the norm for military briefings
is to pass out handouts at the start.
 If you use manuals, focus the audience’s attention on the manual for the appropriate
purpose. Then, be sure you bring your audience back to you, so you continue to be the
focus of the briefing rather than the manual.
 Your material must be 100% accurate and correct.
 Be sure you have adequate copies for all of your audience.
 Written material allows the audience to focus on the content of the document and think
about it. Be prepared to answer questions about the material in the handout; the
audience will analyze what you have provided and have some questions for you.
 Since the audience will take the handout with them, don't pass up the marketing
opportunity to promote your program, idea, or proposal with an appropriate marketing
initiative.

Strategies for Addressing Different Audience Types:

Actively Resistant - Emphasize area of agreement

Acknowledge other perspectives

Resistant - Have data to back up statements

Get agreement on smaller issues and leave larger ones for later

Neutral - Emphasize their connection to the issues

Stress benefits from their support

Undecided - Focus attention on your position

Use dramatic examples
Follow-up

Uninformed - Ensure a clear structure

Encourage audience to learn
Don’t worry about discussing other perspectives

Supportive - Positive examples to reinforce commitment

Clear call to action

Actively Supportive - Examples of success

Finished work obstacles
Commitment to new, related goals